


Shadow

by orphan_account



Series: Snapshots [2]
Category: Fargo (2014)
Genre: 1960s, 1970s, Gen, Pre-Canon, Vietnam War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-28 06:03:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5080504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They brought the war home with them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shadow

Vietnam was truly shit, but it would’ve been more bearable had he a family to write home to or even a home for that matter. Hanzee’s tour of duty allowed him far too much time for self-reflection, forced him to realize he defined himself mainly in regards to the Gerhardts, specifically Dodd Gerhardt. They were all he had, whereas they had everything in the world.  
He wouldn't have come to view the jungle as home had he a home in the first place.

And the closest thing he had to a sweetheart was Dodd, which wasn’t even something he could express in a cohesive thought let alone enough to get him through the tense, sleepless nights.  Pretty pathetic, actually, to think any of the Gerhardts would lament his absence.

Luckily, his work in the Army was a lot like what he did back in North Dakota except with a (slightly) higher mortality rate. He adapted quickly and carried out his orders a little too well.  The guys he risked calling his buddies were wary to shoot anyone, and the rest were chickenshits.  For Hanzee, he simply switched out his Bowie knife and pistol for a machine gun.  

Maybe that’s who he was, the perfect soldier.    
But would a perfect soldier secretly kill off the men in his platoon that gave him a rough time? Probably not. _  
_

If Dodd were heir to the throne and leader of the Gerhardt army, that would make Hanzee the prized soldier, reared from birth to fight for their criminal kingdom.

Jeez, the war _was_ really getting to him.

***

When Dodd was gone on his tour, he’d send letters home, asking about his wife, his sweet Simone, the operation (in vague terms of course), Otto, Floyd, Bear, little troublemaker Rye, etc. All except for Hanzee.

But why would someone bother to ask about their own shadow?

Meanwhile, Hanzee carried on as if he hadn’t left Vietnam. He maimed, shot, cut, slashed, killed without hesitation.  Sometimes at night, he’d close his eyes and _swear_ he was back in that jungle instead of in the middle of a snowy wasteland. As loquacious as he was with the residents of Fargo before the war, he had even less desire to talk to anyone outside his immediate circle now.

***

“When was the last time you slept?”

“I don’t know.”

Dodd had come down to the front porch after his newborn woke him up, spying a dark form moving out his window and only a little paranoid someone was conspiring against him.

Hanzee had caught a few disjointed hours here and there, but a full night’s sleep felt like a lifetime away.

“Want a smoke?”

Hanzee issued a crushed packet of cigarettes from inside his coat, offering one to his partner.  Dodd’s answer was to take one and let Hanzee light it for him.

“Thanks.”

He was used to the insomnia by now, but that didn’t mean he _wanted_ to stay up all hours of the night.  Without the threat of the enemy bearing down from all sides, he lacked a purpose.

The two stood in silence on the porch, scanning the darkness and catching sight of the small graveyard as a cloud pulled back to reveal the harvest moon.

With his partner next to him, he should’ve felt whole, but instead he felt only emptiness.  Hollow as a dead tree.

He tore himself out of whatever trance he’d worked himself into and watched Dodd suck on his cigarette.  The end glowed with each drag, illuminating his face ever so slightly.  Smoke mingled with the condensation from their breath.

“Wanna go for a walk?” Dodd was offering something this time, “Maybe it’ll tire ya out.”

Both knew this wasn’t true, but Hanzee wasn’t going to object to his company.


End file.
